1 More Countdown

Top 10 Saddest Moments in Gaming (Excluding Aerith’s Death)

Welcome readers to my very last 1 More Countdown. As I’m sure you heard, 1 More Castle is closing its doors forever on July 31st.

Since 1 More Castle is closing, I’m very sad. I heard misery loves company, so I decided to countdown the saddest moments in gaming. I decided to exclude Aeris’ death from Final Fantasy because that’s too easy.

As always, only one game per franchise and only retro games count in this list. So grab your tissues and pint of ice cream, because we’re about to get sad.

Also massive spoilers ahead.

Honorable Mention.) Klonoa Leaves – Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS1)

I don’t often include an honorable mention on my lists, so I’ll make this entry short. Klonoa is a cute platforming game from Japan for the Playstation 1.

Like many video games, the goal is to save the world from evil. Unfortunately, when Klonoa accomplishes his goal… he is sent home… and it’s quite sad.

Just watch and learn why this game traumatized me.

 

10.) The Deku Butler’s Son – Majora’s Mask (N64)

Deku_Butler's_Son

This may be sad to many of you, but it’s hard for me to feel bad about a anthropomorphic tree… ironic considering my Woodyman username, I know.

In Majora’s Mask beneath Clock Town you can find the withered remains of a tree with a face. It is implied that this is the Deku Butler’s son.

In the beginning of Majora’s Mask link is cursed to inhabit the body of a Deku Scrub. His ocarina is lost, Epona is gone, and everything looks shitty. Also the world is ending in just a matter of hours due to a spooky moon.

Later in the game Link meets the Deku Butler who claims Link’s Deku Scrub form reminds him of his son and even later the Deku Butler is seen sobbing over the withered tree.

This lead many fans to believe that Link was transformed into the Deku Butler’s son, who died under Clock Town.

Nintendo……. a family company.

 

9.) Conker’s Bad Fur Day Ending (N64)

Conkers Bad Fur Day_Dec29 13_34_48

I really do think Conker’s Bad Fur Day on Nintendo 64 might be the game that has appeared in the majority of my lists. I can’t help my love for this game and I’m super excited to play it on the Rare Replay collection coming soon.

At the games ending Conker beats the final boss and is made king. Sounds like a happy ending right?

Wrong…

Conker’s girlfriend is still dead, and he’s surrounded by people that he hates. Worst of all he had the opportunity to save his girlfriend and now lost it. He has land, riches, and subject but Conker only wants to go home and have a beer with his love… but he can’t.

Then he drowns his sorrows in booze.

 

8.) Agro’s Fall – Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

Video from Game Grumps and courtesy of Edgar Vargas.

It’s sad when something bad happens to a person, but when it happens to an animal it’s downright traumatic.

In Shadow of the Colossus for the PS2 is one of my favorite game s of all time. In this game you’re on a quest to destroy 16 giant rock colossi. You need to climb and stab these giant monsters to save your girlfriend.

On your quest you’re accompanied by your trusty horse, Agro. You come to rely and love this horse. Agro is the best horse in gaming, hands down. On your way to the final colossus you cross a unstable bridge. The bridge begins to collapse, so Agro throws you off to save you and sacrifices himself.

Agro seemingly falls to his death which is why a lot of people put this in their top 3 saddest moments, but if you played to the end it turns out Agro was hurt… but still alive.

So… not really that sad in the end.

 

7.) Lavitz’ Demise – The Legend of Dragoon (PS1)

If you know me, you know I love The Legend of Dragoon. It’s my favorite game of all time.

However, even I have to admit that this death is a bit underwhelming. Lavitz is one of the earliest characters you meet on your quest. He’s a likeable character, as he is a chivalrous knight, who’s got a sense of humor, and loves his mother. He even can’t wait to introduce Dart and Shana to his mother.

It’s odd, but Lavitz’ death is very similar to Aeris’. The antagonist flies in out of nowhere and impales our hero.

End disc 1.

Disc 2 begins with the team mourning in an old basement and reminiscing over their lost friend.

 

6.) Kratos’ Family – God of War (PS2)

Kratos_e_Ares

God of War is a series on the PS2 and PS3 all about murdering mythological creatures, gods, and titans. However, the series has some dark and sad moments in it as well.

The series protagonist is Kratos. Prior to God of War 1, he was a general in the Spartan army. He was victorious often until he faced off against an army of barbarians. On the verge of defeat, he pledged his allegiance to Ares the God of War for help.

Ares then tricks Kratos into murdering his wife and child in a blind fit of rage, thus severing his ties to the mortal world. Kratos was tricked into murdering his own family. To make matters even worse, Kratos is constantly covered in the ashes of his dead family as a tragic reminder of his actions.

The main reason this isn’t really any higher on the list is that Kratos is more angry than sad, so it’s hard to feel sad in this moment, when our protagonist is just pissed.

 

5.) In Water – Silent Hill 2 (PS2)

The endings of the Silent Hill games are rarely feel good resolutions. In the best case scenario, everything is controlled by a Shiba Inu, in the worst case you have the In Water ending from Silent Hill 2 on the PS2.

The game focuses on James Sunderland who comes to Silent Hill when he received a letter from his deceased wife. He is joined by a woman named Maria who strongly resembles his long lost wife, Mary. Together they set off to find Mary, or at least find the truth about Mary’s death.

There are six endings to this game, but the saddest is In Water. In this ending Mary is still dead, James blames himself. He decides to end it all by driving straight into a lake and drowning.

We then read Mary’s final note to James.

 

4.) Lucca’s House – Chrono Cross (PS1)

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(FYI Serge’s out of body experience was THIS close to making this spot)

Let’s talk about dead children, that’ll surely lighten the mood around here. The whole Chrono series is fall of depressing moments from Schala’s fate, to Crono’s death, to the entire Dead Sea, but just one stuck with me.

Later in the game you go to Lucca’s house. Yes it’s Lucca from the original Chrono Trigger. As it turns out after the events of Chrono Trigger, Lucca continued to study science, but also turned her home into an orphanage.

One day it was attacked by the game’s antagonist Lynx. All because Lynx wanted Lucca to do sciency things for him. Lynx burned down the orphanage and some children died in the fire.

What’s even worse is that the fire killed Gato! You remember Gato rigtht? The singing and fighting robot from the beginning of Chrono Trigger!?

YOU MONSTER

 

3.) Celes’ Suicide – Final Fantasy VI (SNES)

Celes from Final Fantasy VI is the saddest moment I’ve experienced with the series outside of the Aeris scene. Please remember my experiences with this series is limited, so while I think this moment is sad, you might say a different one.

The ending of Final Fantasy X was close, but I never liked Luna or Tidus as a character… so meh.

Celes is a magitek enhanced warrior who used to fight for the empire, but got fed up with their shit, so she decided to joine Locke and the Returners.

As such she isn’t very friendly with the party, and they aren’t very quick to trust her. Nevertheless, she’s a strong independent woman, that is truly one of the best characters in this game.

Plus, remember when she stabbed Kefka? LIKE A BOSS!

After this Celes wakes up from a coma a year later, Cid tells her the world is falling deeper into chaos and nearly everyone is captured or dead. Celes takes care of Cid, but if she fails and he dies she falls into depression.

She then jumps off a cliff to kill herself.

Either way she survives but the tragedy behind the whole situation and the fact that Final Fantasy KNOWS how to make sad moments stick with their music, makes this one of the saddest moments in gaming.

 

2.) Max Payne’s Dream (PS2)

Wow… this list is pretty damn dark isn’t it. We had the death of a wife, the death of a child, death of a friend, death of a girlfriend, death of a wife and child, and a horse fell down. I’m sorry, but as I said, if I’m gonna be sad I’m taking all you with me.

There’s one thing to experience a death, there’s another to be constantly haunted by it. Unfortunately, Max Payne falls into the latter.

In the first game Max is haunted by a constant nightmare. He comes home from work an hear’s no response from his wife. Something isn’t right when Max finds a strange V and grafitti. Max runs through the house (in the dream the house is mangled and distorted) to find that Valkyr test subjects were released upon the house and killed Max’s wife, Michelle, and his daughter, Rose.

The worst thing is that in the dream, you hear the baby crying, the entire time.

 

I don’t want to end this list…

If I do that means it’s also the end of 1 More Castle and 1 More Countdown…

Maybe I can just stall here for a while…

You don’t mind if we just wait…. right?

. . . . .

There’s no use… is there?

The show must go on.

 

1.) The Ending of Metal Gear Solid 3 (PS2)

 

Since I’m ending this list with an entry from Metal Gear Solid there is a likely chance this entry will be long, but I’ll try to condense it.

The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3 was the protagonist, Naked Snake’s, teacher, leader, and friend. She was ordered by the CIA to retrieve the Philosopher’s Legacy. To do this she had to turn traitor and work for the game’s antagonist, Colonal Volgin. She captured the scientist Sokolov who basically is responsible for all Metal Gears, and gave Volgin two nuclear warheads.

She also throws Naked Snake off a bridge, and seriously injures him.

The Boss and Naked Snake meet once more in the finale of the game. Here, Snake must defeat the Boss in combat and ultimately kill his former mentor and friend. To make sure Snake completes his mission, The Boss calls in a bomb strike on their exact location.

The two fight with CQC (close quarters combat) which The Boss taught to Snake years ago.

When Snake is victorious he shoots The Boss with her own gun, and the rest is mournful silence.

It ends with The Boss’ horse mourning over her body, and Naked Snake seeing the spirits of The Boss and The Sorrow reuniting in death.

“One must die and one must live. No victory, no defeat. The survivor will carry on the fight. It is our destiny… The one who survives will inherit the title of Boss. And the one who inherits the title of Boss will face an existence of endless battle.”

 

Well 1 More Castle readers… this was my very last list for the site. I hope you enjoyed all of my lists, and be sure to follow me on ScrewAttack because I will continue to write there.

Before I go, I really want to thank the guys at 1 More Castle for giving me the chance to write here. I love this site, and I feel like I’m losing a family and a home now that the site is closing its doors. Special thanks to Andrew who edits these massive blogs, helps me out when I’m stuck, and deals with my crazy scheduling conflicts. It’s been a blast.

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Love you guys!

Keep Gaming!